Spotlight on Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise that operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines. Buffalo Wild Wings was co-founded in 1982 by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery in Columbus, Ohio near the Ohio State University campus. Once when visiting Ohio, the pair craved the barbeque chicken wings from Disbrow’s, Buffalo, NY, but couldn’t find anything comparable. Instead of giving up on finding the famous Buffalo delicacy, Disbrow and Lowery decided to start their own restaurant. Originally called Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, from which the abbreviation BW-3 was created (the third W was for the beef on weck sandwich, also popular in upstate New York), Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck began to franchise in 1990.

In 1996, Sally Smith took over as CEO of the company and its then, 35 locations. In an effort to expand the brand, Smith took on the task of restructuring the company’s finances, broadening the appeal of the chain by revising the name, redesigning the buildings, and evolving the brand from a college bar concept to a family-friendly sports bar and grill. In 1998 the name was changed to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar.

In order to support its growth, Smith led the company through a successful initial public offering in November 2003. The company was recognized in Forbes magazine’s list of the “200 Best Small Companies” in 2007 through 2011. Also in 2008, 2009, and 2011, Fortune magazine cited Buffalo Wild Wings in its list of the “100 Fastest Growing Companies.” Today, the company has no debt and a healthy balance sheet. In 2015 Buffalo Wild Wings earned $1.8 billion in revenue, up over 43% since 2011. Also as of 2015, the company has 1,070 locations (485 directly owned by the company, and 585 franchised locations) across the United States, and has set a goal of having 1,500 restaurants across North America in the next five to seven years.

Buffalo Wild Wings can be located in in-line retail locations as well as standalone buildings with a typical size of approximately 6,500 square feet. Preferred locations are in a casual dining corridor close to big box retailers. Leases can be double or triple net, and usually offer a primary term of 15 years, along with periodic rent increases in the primary term and option periods.